Unwanted Curses
by Jarakuheart
Summary: She was learning the hard way that she should not mess with demons...AN I am rewriting this. Bigger and better. Lemons later on.
1. Stalking Sesshoumaru

Chapter 1

Stalking someone was quite new to Kagome. The idea of following someone who did not know that they were being followed (Or at least she hoped so) was something that someone who had no true life would do. And here she was, stalking Sesshoumaru, one of the greatest demons she had ever fought. Hopefully he would not notice her, but then again, he was not called a powerful demon for no reason. Kagome had seen him fight in his true form, and knew he was not one to mess with. But here she was, most likely being detected by the person she absolutely had to follow. All because of Naraku.

Kagome watched as the demon lord stopped, his little servant-like thing crashing into him, while Rin and the large dragon stopped several feet from Sesshoumaru. He seemed to have said something, though Kagome could not hear, for the lord's charge, servant and dragon walked around him, and continued down the path. In that moment, Kagome realized that he would either kill her, or confront her. She really did not want him to kill her, but at that moment, she did not want to talk to him at all. But unfortunately for her, her fate was in his hands. Currently life sucked.

She was not really scared of him; he was just far too intimidating. He had this personality that said that he was god, and she was dirt. If up to her, she would show him who was boss. Unfortunately, he was about a thousand times more powerful than her, and could easily squish her like a bug, and no normal person would want that. Not to say Kagome was normal. She was far from normal, but that did not mean she wanted to die.

She would never want to be with Sesshoumaru on her own free will, but someone out there really hated her. And his name was Naraku. Stupid demon, always causing more problems than were either wanted or needed. It was a good thing that there were a lot of people, both human and otherwise, that wanted him dead. That was currently the only that she had in common with Inuyasha's older brother.

Sesshoumaru took a long time to do nothing. While his companions had left her sight, Kagome started to wonder what he was up to. Inuyasha had told her not to expect too much from his brother, though his words were indirectly. He said that Sesshoumaru might help her, but not to get too hopeful. Of course Inuyasha had been furious to begin with over the idea that she was trying to see if she could stay with Sesshoumaru for the time being. Not that she wanted to. Never. She would have tried her hardest to not be with him, but even after many ideas, Kagome had to travel with him.

To her, Sesshoumaru was like the devil. Or at least that was her first impression of him. After all, how many people would try to kill their own family, and vandalize their own father's grave? Then again, he was a demon, and it could have been perfectly normal for someone of that race to try to destroy their family. Kagome did not know, and was not going to think about it further. But Sesshoumaru had somehow forced his way into her mind.

Inwardly, Kagome cursed him and his mightiness.

"Girl," She was pulled out of her thoughts by his voice. She turned to look at him from her spot from behind the tree. He was not looking at her, but she knew he had the rest of his senses on her. She could see his ears twitch slightly as she stepped on a branch on her way over. She stopped just a couple trees behind and to the side of him. "What do you want? You have been following us for three days."

That was true. She had left her friends a week ago to find the demon Lord in front of her. She had finally seen him on the fourth day, but did not have the courage to talk to him immediately. In the end, Kagome had decided that he would have to come to her, though thinking about that right now, it was not a bright idea.

It was starting to bother her that he had some unknown power that made people fear him, with out him batting an eyelid. He had this cold persona that could kill by just feeling the aura, that same aura that the female could feel grabbing at her, trying to bring her down. If she did not know better, she would have thought that he was doing it on purpose. But he was Sesshoumaru and did not need to do that.

Again, she cursed his mightiness.

She took a step closer to him, as she spoke. "I do not mean to be a bother, Sesshoumaru, but," She paused thinking about how to say her next words. Not only that, but the demon gave her this cold look, almost stopping the blood in her very veins. She became cold at the look, and had to focus on something that was not Sesshoumaru.

"But, may I stay with you and your companions?" Saying something like that to one you would consider an enemy, you would at least expect a reaction.

Sesshoumaru gave none. He did not move. From her point, he did not even seem to have blinked. In fact he acted like he heard nothing coming from her lips.

He became a statue.

After a while he turned his head to face Kagome, his body following. She looked into his face as he looked into hers. She noticed his eyes were cold and calculating, just like his personality, but at the same time much like Inuyasha's, yet, they were richer in color, deeper, and somehow more expressive. They reflected the sun, but took their own color of rich honey. Kagome could easily say they were one of his greatest features. It was hard for her to deny, almost impossible, the fact that he was very attractive, because of those eyes alone.

But he really needed to work on his personality. His sucked like a prostitute.

"Do as you please." He continued down the path, Kagome following just several feet behind.

Kagome's legs were tired. The demon in front of her traveled far and long in the time she had been his stalker. She decided that both Rin and Jaken were lucky because of that dragon. She saw that they would ride it for hours at a time. If only she had her bike. Every thing was so much better in her time. They had cars. And air conditioning. And telephones. But most importantly showers. Good ol' showers.

Kagome was surprised that Sesshoumaru had allowed her to stay. He never seemed to be the person to allow an almost complete stranger to join his group (she never did wonder where Jaken and Rin came from), but who was she to judge? He was a mystery, and now, because she was going to travel with him, she would solve that mystery. The thought was enjoyable for at least a second.

She would figure out who Sesshoumaru was!

Or maybe not. Oh, well. The thought was fun while it lasted.

But she could try to figure out where they were going to go, if only to pass the time. So far she had seen a good deal of Japan, and it would be fun to see where Sesshoumaru was taking them. Yes! A new game. Where is Sesshoumaru going? At that Kagome decided that she was going to make children's games when she got home. If she made it home.

She planted her feet into the ground as Sesshoumaru stopped.

It did not take long for the two of them to reach the area where Sesshoumaru's companions had set up camp. The large dragon was lying down, eating the grass in front of him, or whatever gender the creature was. Both Jaken and Rin seemed to be having trouble with the fire they wanted to start. All three bodies turned to look at them, as they entered the encampment.

"Kagome?" the young girl called from her spot by the pile of wood. She had to admit, the child was cute. Some kind of innocence radiated from her, almost blasting her with its power. Just like Sesshoumaru's ice power. Maybe he rubbed off on her. Hopefully not physically. That would be wrong on so many levels.

"Hey," she replied. "I'm gonna stay with you for a while." Kagome gave a tiny smile, her tongue sticking out between her teeth. It was a goofy expression she had had picked up with hanging out with Shippou too much. The little fox did it whenever he met a girl that he had a crush on. Kagome of course just did to be friendly to Rin.

As soon as she finished her sentence, Jaken started to gape. "Mi…Milord, is this true? Is this woman staying with us?" The small creature gave Kagome a look of disgust as he questioned his lord. If she had known that he would be so rude, Kagome might have not decided to travel with Sesshoumaru, even at the cost of her friends, but it was too late now. She was going to stay as long as she needed. Which might just be a long time. Stupid Naraku.

Jaken on the other hand was horrified beyond belief. He would be stuck with this woman. One who had tried the kill him when he was only doing his master's bidding. He knew that she would try to bash his head whenever no one was looking. It was something that was coded into her blood, creating him pain.

It was times like this that Jaken wanted to retire soon.

Sesshoumaru brushed pass Kagome and Jaken, sitting under a tree, not far away. "Jaken, silence," he commanded. His voice was strong, demanding to be listened to. Kagome had no clue as to why she thought that, but it was true; though she most likely would not follow his orders unless there was a real need be. But it did shut the imp up. Which was nice, if only for a little while.

Kagome did not like the little creature at all. He looked gross, and sounded gross, and smelled gross. Everything about him screamed gross. She might as well just call him Gross.

Hm…maybe…

Jaken went back to his place by the wood, picking up the two rocks that he was using to try and start the fire. Kagome went over, and sat down next to Rin. Placing her bag off her back, the older girl started going through it. The bag was trusty, never once being lost, and withstanding even the worst people, or demons.

One time it fell into a lake, and while nothing was destroyed, it somehow managed to gather some fish. Shippou was happy, until Inuyasha came by and ate both of theirs. It ended up in a big fight that was entertaining none-the-less.

"What's in there?" As soon as the word left Rin's mouth, Jaken stumbled over to the two females. Kagome could smell that nasty part of him called body odor, and it reeked. She noticed that there were no flies about, and that gave her the impression that they all had died, hiding in the imps brown clothing. She had to wonder if his clothes had started out white…

"Hey," Kagome sighed as the little imp pushed her out of the way, and started rummaging through her stuff. "Get out of there you nasty thing!" Rin watched on in silence, as the only other female started to kick her master repeatedly in the stomach, trying to get him away from her stuff.

Jaken found odd things hiding in the bag, all of which he had never seen before. It was odd for him to not know what something was, mostly because he had traveled all over the world and had seen most things.

The girl must be a witch, was the only logical thing that popped into his head. It explained so much.

"Milord, this human carries sorcery!" he yelled to Sesshoumaru. The silver demon merely opened his eyes, looked to Jaken, and then to Kagome. When their eyes met for a second time that day, she began to shudder. Though they seemed to be blank, she could tell he was thinking about something, but what, she could only guess.

"Jaken, leave her." He closed his eyes again, and looked as if he were asleep. His servant gaped again at his master. Then he gave Kagome a cold look, before sitting down in his place. She just stuck her tongue out at him in return.

Going through her bag, the girl grabbed a box of matches. She pulled out a match, and scraped in against the side of the box. Jaken stared, eyes wide open, while Rin look very interested at what she was doing. Throwing the burning stick into the pile of wood, the whole thing slowly erupted in flames.

It was funny. When Kagome had first showed her friends in this time the trick with the match, their reactions were the same as Rin's, eyes going wide and gasps leaving their lips.

If schooling in her time failed, then she could always become a magician in this time. Maybe she would become famous.

She would be a part of this world, while still remaining part of her own though her objects from home.

"Kagome," She was pulled out her thoughts by the younger girl. "Why are you here?" She took a good look at her.

Rin had grown several inches since the incident with Takemaru. Her hair was hanging down, instead of part of it pulled back. She had seemed to have taken this mature look that stated, 'Though I am a child, I am quite wise', and Kagome believed it. She was still cute, and if Kagome was in to the whole cannibalism thing, she would have eaten her up at that second. It was a good thing she was not; otherwise Rin would be dead a long time ago, eaten by some other person.

The teen thought about the words, not finding a way to say them, without giving away too much. She would be mortified if Sesshoumaru ever found out why she was truly there. The only way Kagome would tell him is if he asked, and they were far away from both Rin and Jaken. Even so, it would take a lot of courage to do so. "I have to be here." It was an answer, though very vague.

"Oh," Rin sighed and picked her self up. She really wanted to know why the older girl was there. Even though Kagome was great, she did not seem to fit with everybody in this group.

A large growl came from Rin's stomach.

It suddenly became quiet, even with the crackling of the fire.

She decided that now would be a good time to look for some food

"Here," Before Rin could pull away from the fire, Kagome handed her a piece of jerky. The young girl gave a skeptic look, but took the meat anyways. After nibbling a bit, Rin decided she liked it and gave Kagome a large smile, before stuffing an entire piece in her mouth. "Slow down," the older girl laughed. "You'll get sick." Offering some to Jaken, the little creature snatched it from her hands and ate it. She just guessed that they never got meat.

Looking over to Sesshoumaru, Kagome noticed that the demon was looking at them with a small amount of curiosity. When he noticed that she was staring, he closed his eyes. Grabbing the bag with the food, the teen walked over to the mysterious man. "Would you like some, Sesshoumaru?"

He did not even look at her before he spoke. "No, thank you." He seemed to have dismissed her, as he turned his head, as if he was looking in that direction, but Kagome knew better. He was not going to take anything from a human. At least he had some manners. She did see that his nose was moving slightly, as if smelling the meat, and deducted that he was taking in its scent. That thought almost made her laugh. Almost being the key word.

Giving Rin a large smile as she sat back down, the teen shrugged her shoulders at Sesshoumaru's behavior. The girl smiled right back.

Already Kagome could tell that she would be a good friend to her.

Gods she missed her own friends. This time at night would be the noisiest. Everyone would be setting up, with the exception of one person, who would be preparing food. After getting dinner, they would chat about this and that, trying to take their minds off the harsh realities of the world. They would continue on like this, until they became tired, then they would fall asleep.

The older female grabbed some jerky for her self, and ate it slowly, trying to give her something to do. It was a rare occasion for her to eat the dried meat, but Sango had made it as a good bye gift for the time being, and every bite was well worth it. It was defiantly much better than the dried demons that she had accidentally brought home.

It was getting dark, and Kagome noticed that Rin was starting to nod off. Grabbing a blanket out of her bag, she wrapped it around the girl, before getting one for herself.

She was tired, and just ready to fall asleep. She really needed it. Sesshoumaru had walked through the night, the previous night, and if she was going to get any sleep she needed to get it now before Sesshoumaru would go on the move again.

Laying down, Kagome tried her hardest to sleep, but it would not come to her. She was hot, slightly embarrassed because this would be the first night that she would spend with Sesshoumaru. It did not help that the air was warm, and her clothes were starting to stick to her body, making various parts itchy.

As the minutes slowly passed, Kagome watched as Jaken had finally fell asleep, a snot bubble occasionally popping out of his nostril in the most disgusting manner. Even though the dragon was a bit away from her, she could easily hear it snore, preventing herself from doing the same.

But even through this all, there was one thing that bothered her the most, making her sleep restless and uncomfortable.

The golden eyes that watched her.


	2. Ugly Faces

Chapter 2

Sesshoumaru had been so frustrating for the past few days. He never spoke, unless he was ordering someone around, or they asked a question that could have a two-word answer. Kagome had offered him food, blankets, and whatever else he might need, and he blew her off completely every time. He made her so mad, and the only way to cool down was to seethe inside. And that was not very healthy.

As the group traveled, Kagome watched Rin ride the large dragon. The creature was really sweet, making sure that the little girl was both safe and comfortable, unlike some demons that kept their company. At night, when they were going to bed, he would watch over the camp, even though Sesshoumaru was already doing so.

The first few days that Kagome was there, she would ask Rin if she knew where they were going. Not once had the girl answered 'yes,' but she said that wherever they went, it was for 'Lord Sesshoumaru.' She did not see how the girl had become so attached to the demon, but guessed he was using demon magic.

The two females had become close during the time they spent together. And through that time, Kagome had found out three important things about Rin. The first was that she absolutely adored Sesshoumaru, though the demon lord never seemed to notice anything. The second thing was that she loved to pick flowers. Every time they stopped by a patch, the young girl would grab some, giving a few to her, some to Jaken, and the rest to Ah-Un, who just ate them.

The last thing was that Rin loved to sing, and it bothered Kagome slightly. Not the singing part; it was what the girl was singing. Every time she opened her mouth to make a musical note, it would be about Sesshoumaru. Sometimes it would be about how great he was, or how beautiful he was. On and on. Constantly about the demon that currently walked in front of them.

On occasion, Sesshoumaru would ask Rin to stop, and she would. But not an hour later, she would pick up where she stopped. Kagome would have told her to stop as well, but it was an awkward thing to ask. She could just hear her self. 'Rin, could you stop singing about that self centered demon. If you continue on, I think his ego will bust.' She almost had to stop her self from giggling.

Kagome knew that Sesshoumaru was not entirely self-centered, though he did seem like it, so the thought was funny. Plus it added to her hate for him, and she needed to hate someone. Jaken was way too easy to hate, and she wanted a challenge. There were many things to 'hate' about Sesshoumaru, but most of it was in all reality, jealousy. He had perfect hair, and with what she could tell, a good body, and a nice face… The list could easily go on for hours.

Gripping her bag tighter than needed, Kagome purposefully dragged her self out of her thoughts. If she kept up with it, she would start drooling over Sesshoumaru, and that was the last thing she wanted. Most likely he thought she was a freak, and in a way she was, but drooling would make it worse. It's what dogs do. Except maybe him. Unfortunately for Inuyasha, Kagome had caught him slobbering at the mouth a couple times. It was humorous, and she really wanted to take a picture, but he snatched the camera and broke it.

Inuyasha…  Kagome missed her friends greatly. They kept her company, and had things in common with her. Its not that she did not like her present companions, it was just that she would prefer to at least know something about someone other than that they were completely obsessed about someone else.

Rin actually reminded Kagome a lot about Shippou. The small fox was happy to do anything for those he cared about, though not to the same extreme as Rin. She would have brought the small male with her, but feared that he might cause problems that would end up getting both of them killed.

At that second, he was most likely sad about her being gone. Miroku and Sango were probably trying to cheer him up. They did that all the time. Sango would be motherly to Shippou, while Miroku would give him positive logic. They made such a good couple. It was funny, really. It took forever for them to realize that they loved each other, and while nothing too noticeable had changed between them, they became very much in tune with each other, always acting more like one unit than a couple. It was romantic; Kagome could only be jealous of them.

She had always wanted to fall in love with someone. She thought that it would be with Inuyasha, but he was so closed off, never telling her how he felt. It got worse after Kikyou had truly died, for the final time. It might have been the fact that he had gone through so much heartbreak, that he did not want to go through it again, but she had gone through her own hardships and she still wanted to fall in love and know what it was like to have her love returned.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Her head shot up at hearing the question. She looked around, finding Rin looking at her curiously

"What?"

"Are you alright? You spaced out."

"Yeah, I was just thinking." Looking in front of her, Kagome noticed Sesshoumaru had disappeared. "Where'd Sesshoumaru go?"

Rin's face took on a thoughtful look. "He left. Didn't you see him?"

Kagome shook her head 'no.'

Jaken was in front, leading the group. His brow was furrowed, and the staff that was normally upright, seemed to be a bit more crooked, and hit the ground every couple of steps. He looked depressed, like he did not want to be there. Sucks for him.

A light buzzing drew Kagome's attention away from the imp. She looked to the skies, the source of the noise. Through the branches of the trees that had provided them shade thus far were several Saimyoushou, flying about, watching them.

"Jaken," Kagome called, still looking at the insects. "Jaken!"

Rin seemed to take notice as well, and screamed, fear evident in her face. She even almost fell off of Ah-un.

"Quiet you." He turned around to look at those behind him. Just after he did this, his lack of multi-tasking jumped in. and he tripped over a rock, falling on his back. His staff went flying.

Looking up, he finally noticed the flying insects. His eyes narrowed, and he looked as if he had seen an old enemy. He looked ready to kill.

Running over to grab his staff, the imp jumped up, and somehow made fire shoot out of the old man's head on the top of the wooden structure. Kagome could feel the heat coming from the flame and jumped back, running over to where Rin sat.

Jaken got a few of them, but the heat drove the remaining into a fury that was like no other. Immediately, the swarm charged after the imp, most of them being devoured by the flame.

One of them was able to get past the inferno, going right after Jaken's face. Not noticing it, the imp was stung in the face. He instantly dropped his staff, trying to grab the stinger out. "Take it out! Take it out!" He waved his arms around. Rin rushed over to him and tried to take out the stinger that was left in. Unfortunately the stinger sunk into his skin, forever lost in his head.

The remaining Saimyoushou tried to dive bomb the girl and her demon master. Kagome saw her opportunity to help, grabbed her bow and an arrow and let loose a wave of purification, killing off the remaining bugs.

Running over to Jaken and Rin, Kagome looked him over. The area looked as if it were a giant zit, puss starting to ooze out, and the skin a purplish color. The older girl knew that the area was infected and had to be treated as soon as possible.

"Master Jaken," Rin cried out, tears rimming in her eyes. "Not again! You're not going to die, are you?" The imp made no move to reinsure the girl about his death. He continued to groan and mumble about serving Sesshoumaru and how he died pitifully trying to save humans from something as low as bugs.

"Is there anything I can do?" Kagome never liked to see anyone hurt, even if they did smell. If Jaken died, Rin would be greatly upset, and she had a feeling that the girl would go into some form of depression would eventually lead to her death. Not only that, but Sesshoumaru would be pissed as the thought that his servant died just a few days after she had joined the group, and that did not bode well with Kagome. She had to make sure that her life went as smoothly as possibly with the demon lord.

Rin grabbed her hand, and drudged over to the dragon. "We need to go see the herb demon. Right, Master Jaken?" There were still tears in her eyes, but also a new resolve that glowed, giving her an older look. The teen did not know whom she was talking about but had a feeling that it might be Jinenji.

Jaken looked absolutely pathetic. He sat in the dirt, his yellow eyes bulging out of his head, looking at his two companions. He knew he was going to die, but also knew that both the girls could easily take care of him, and get the herb.

When Rin climbed on Ah-Un, Kagome called to her. "Rin, wait! How about you stay here with Jaken, and I go get the herbs." When she saw that the girl was going to protest, she stopped her. "It would be best if someone watched over him and someone else go and get the medicine." Giving the child her bag, telling her how to make sure the imp would be in little pain, she left to get the herbs.

Jaken watched the interaction between the two females, and would have complained about being treated like he was not even there, but then realized that he was getting his much needed attention. When Kagome left on Ah-Un, he started to groan, gaining the notice of Rin.

It had been the worse time in his life. No matter what happened he would be miserable, and the only way to stop it was for Kagome to come back to him.

He should have never treated her so badly all the times he did. The girl should have been cared for and loved and respected instead of being left unprotected when she needed it most.

But here he was, waiting for Sango to come back and tell how Kagome was doing. He just hoped she was doing well, even if she was with his brother.

As the wind blew past her face, Kagome noticed that Ah-Un traveled much like Kirara. He was fast, moving his legs, as if walking in the air. She had to admit, she respected the dragon. He took care of Rin when she was left alone, and provided a good transport.

"Do you know where we are going?" At the nod of the creature, she grabbed the reigns, and tried to drive him faster. He threw his right head back, shaking his mane in her face. He seemed annoyed with her.

Kagome was not going somewhere she most likely did not know for Jaken…well maybe a little, but not enough to matter. Kagome was mostly doing it for Rin. She knew the girl was close to the imp, and would most likely go as far as to die for him. It was amazing how attached the girl got to people. She wondered if Rin would ever become that fond of her. Of course that might lead some complications when she had to leave. But that most likely would happen much later on.

The area that the two traveled around looked awfully familiar. It took a while, but then it hit her. It was the village that Jinenji lived in. It would be wonderful to see an old face again, and if she knew it was him, she would have brought him some jerky, though they were running low.

Normally Kagome would have a variety of food, but she lost most of it in her last fight with Naraku. Afterwards, Sango brought her three weeks worth of jerky, but both Jaken and Rin enjoyed it a lot, so there was only enough for a few more days.

Landing near the familiar patch of herbs, Kagome jumped off of Ah-Un, and rushed happily to the hut where her friend lived.

"Jinenji, are you here?" After a few seconds the tall, but mutilated demon appeared outside. Warmth flooded her. It was so great to see him. The last time his face graced her eyes, was about six months ago.

Every scar and odd bump was placed into her mind so that she knew that he would always have a place in her heart. Him and everybody else, no matter what time, would always have their face engraved so that she would never forget the memories that they gave her.

"Kagome, how are you?" he asked, his unusual voice bringing back fond memories about times that he had helped save the lives of many.

She nodded, and gave him her biggest smile, telling him she was fine. Even though staying with Sesshoumaru was not the greatest thing, she was content with how her life was going at the moment.

Jinenji's blue eyes looked around, trying to find the someone that was not there. "Where is Inuyasha?" As soon as the words left his mouth, her face fell.

She knew that it was best that she did not lose face in front of the half-demon. It would make him feel awkward, and he might even start to hate himself for causing her mental pain.

"I am not able to travel with him." Kagome tried to end the subject, and Jinenji seemed to realize that. Both briskly walked into his home.

The hut was small, but had a warm homely feel to it. The fire created the warmth, while the few personal things that dotted the room made it seem lively and livable. If her own family lived in this time, this would be the place that she would want to live.

As soon as the half-demon took a seat in the back of the room, Kagome jumped right into business. "Do you have any plant that could help a demon from Saimyoushou poisoning? I have a," She stopped, thinking about what to consider Jaken. "Friend that took some nasty stings."

Light flooded the hut as Jinenji's mother walked in, a hoe resting on her shoulder. The way that the light framed her figure and the dirt that covered her face, the woman looked as though she had risen from the dead.

"Are you smitten with a demon?" she asked suddenly. Knowing the old woman, she would start to rant and rave about her old lover, the father of the half-demon in the room.

Jinenji just sighed.

"There was a girl that came here about a year ago asking for the same thing. I think she was in love with the demon that she got the herb for." Kagome's ears tuned in as soon as she heard the words. The male seemed to have noticed her interest, his focusing shifting from his mother to the girl in front of him.

The words that flew from the woman's mouth got Kagome's brain turning. Rin had said 'not again', meaning that the stinging had happened before. The girl was most likely the one that Jinenji's mother was talking about.

It really was a small world.

"Do you have the same plant that you gave her?" It would help so much if they did, otherwise she would most likely have to go and get it herself, and that might take a while. She did not know how much time she had before Jaken would die. That thought was not that bad, but she had to remember about Rin.

Jinenji shifted a little, drawing Kagome's attention. The half demon had reached for a pot behind him, pulling out a red flower. "We have been keeping these around since the girl came." He shook his head remembering how she had gone off on her own to save her demon friend. "I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

As soon as the flower was placed into her hands, Kagome said a quick 'thank you', running out of the hut to make it to the dragon as fast as she could.

It only took about an hour to get to Jaken and Rin. The little imp was making obviously fake noises, while Rin sat by him, crying, thinking he was going to die.

Getting off of the dragon, she handed the herb the green creature, who snarffled it in a matter of seconds, and sat in the dirt next to Rin. Pulling the girl into her lap, Kagome started to rub small circles on her back. Only a few hiccups were heard from the child as she calmed down and eventually fell asleep. Jaken meant a lot to Rin, but still, the small green creature treated her with little kindness. Kagome knew that in the darkness of his heart, the imp made her cry.

Giving him a cold look, she left Rin where she was and grabbed a blanket from her bag. Wrapping her up, Kagome started to build a fire next to the path. It was still midday, but it started to get cold, and she figured that there would be a storm coming in the next few days. She had learned to predict the weather not even a year after she had fallen down the well. It was a good gift, and she treasured it dearly.

It was night before Sesshoumaru returned.

Both Rin and Jaken had fallen asleep, leaving Kagome without a blanket to keep her self warm, so she was close to the fire. When she looked up from the passionate dance of flames in front of her to the golden eyes of the demon lord, she almost fell over with the intensity of it all.

She could never handle too much.

He regarded her with much more interest than she thought her could possible have. His eyes flashed with some unknown emotion, though Kagome could have sworn it was curiosity more than anything else. It made her uneasy that his eyes could look so different when it came to showing emotions, but it might have been whatever control Sesshoumaru had over himself.

"Why do you constantly sacrifice yourself?" His voice was sudden, almost unnerving at how random it was. Kagome was still not use to hearing his voice, even after the past few days.

His eyes blazed with gods knows what, and she had to admit, it made him look quite handsome.

"What do you mean?" To Kagome, his words made no sense. She did not constantly sacrifice herself. She might have given away time or objects to those who were less fortunate, but never did she go to far out of way to make sure someone was comfortable. She knew that it could lead her to becoming a pushover, and that was the last thing she was.

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed again, but this time she did not know what the darkened color meant. "Why are you here?" This new question took her by surprise more than the last one. For some reason, Kagome was convinced he was up to something, using his lack of emotion to his advantage.

Normally she would have answered him before he could speak again, but he get to it before her. "Come, we must talk." He moved away from the path that the others were sleeping by, and into the woods that were only mere feet from the fire.

The demon lord was really confusing Kagome. She had never known him to be so erratic before, and she had a feeling something was wrong, instead of him being up to something.

The woods were dark, adding to the ominous mood that drifted thru the trees. There was some kind of presence, not Sesshoumaru, that made Kagome fear being out there, but she ignored it, knowing it was pointless to fear while she was in the company of the demon lord.

Unless it was of the lord himself.

She followed him until he sat under a tree a good distance from the rest of the group. She sat several feet from him, trying to keep her space. The bark of the tree behind her dug into her back, pinching some of her skin. She hoped he would not take too long.

She could not see his face in the darkness, giving her an odd sensation that Sesshoumaru should not be trusted. Kagome had never feared the demon lord like she did that minute. She knew that he was acting odd, and would likely be unpredictable. For all she knew, he would kill her, taking her far away from the group so that they would not find her body, though she doubted that anyone would care if she died.

"Naraku gave me a visit today." His voice was calm, deep, demanding to be listened to, and that was what Kagome did. Naraku talking to Sesshoumaru did not bode well with Kagome at all. It meant more trouble for everybody.

"He informed me of your curse." At his words, a gasp arose from her.

She did not think that the half demon would tell Sesshoumaru about her problems, unless he was up to some evil. Knowing Naraku, the only person that would benefit from Sesshoumaru knowing about her little curse would be the half demon himself.

Life was far too…too…ger.


End file.
